Piston sets nationwide transport strike vs corruption on Sept. 18

MANILA, Philippines, September 15 ------ Transport group Piston (Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Operator Nationwide) will hold a nationwide transport strike on Thursday, September 18, in protest against corruption.

This was announced by Piston on its Facebook page, emphasizing that the upcoming strike will show the transport sector’s outrage over corruption. The transport group also noted how jeepney drivers pay P13,000 oil tax and P4,000 for mototaxi riders monthly. It added that those using modern jeepneys are the most miserable as they pay P23,000 monthly for value-added tax and excise tax. “You’re already in great debt because of the modernization, and your taxes are being stolen!” the group wrote in a Facebook post. “Hearings and investigations are not enough. Someone should be held accountable. Someone should be jailed,” it added.

Several groups have also slammed how billions of pesos were reportedly being squandered due to “ghost” and “substandard” flood control projects. The alleged anomalies in flood control projects prompted Congress to conduct investigations. Various protests against corruption are also set on September 21, which falls on the 53rd anniversary of the declaration of martial law by late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. This includes the “A Trillion Peso March” by the Church Leaders Council for National Transformation at the Epifanio de los Santos Avenue at 2 p.m.

Thousands of students from the University of the Philippines held a “black Friday” protest to condemn the anomalies in flood control and other infrastructure projects. During the second House infrastructure committee hearing on September 9, former assistant district engineer of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Brice Hernandez said Sens. Jinggoy Estrada and Joel Villanueva received at least 30 percent in kickbacks from nearly P1 billion worth of flood control projects in Bulacan. The two senators denied the allegations.

Contractor Pacifico Discaya also recently named several lawmakers and DPWH officials as among those who allegedly solicited money from his firm after it secured government contracts. Several lawmakers have also denied the allegations. Just this Saturday, Malacañang announced former DPWH Secretary Rogelio “Babes” Singson and SGV and Co. country managing partner Rossana Fajardo as two members of the three-member Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI). Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong will serve as the commission’s adviser. The ICI will prioritize the investigation of flood control and other infrastructure projects within the last 10 years.

Source: inquirer.net